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Canadians love to barbecue. Or, if we are being true to the real meaning of "barbecue," what we love to do is grill.

Turn on the gas on the back-porch barbecue, lift the lid, insert some burgers, a steak, chicken, fish and, when there's time and company, a roast. Voila: supper!

The barbecue has solved the hot summer kitchen challenge - survival by turning off the stove, with full retreat to the balcony/patio/deck to do the cooking. And since there's fire involved, men in the household are often the ones who grab the tongs and sharing in the dinner prep and cooking.

So, let's get on with it and fire up the grill.

Bacon Burgers

Not bacon on the burgers, but bacon in the burgers. And if you belong to the school of bacon-makes-everything-better, these are the burgers for you. Burgers, by the way, are Canada's No. 1 grilled item. We just can't get enough of the crisp exterior, the juicy insides and the tangy condiments.

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1 small onion, grated

1/4 cup (60 ml) barbecue sauce, smooth salsa or ketchup

2 tsp. (150ml) Dijon mustard

1 tsp. (5 ml) dried crumbled thyme

1/2 tsp. (2 ml) each salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup (125 ml) dry bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. (30 ml) water

1 lb. (500 g) ground beef

1/2 cup (125 ml) crumbled cooked bacon

4 slices Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (optional)

4 burger buns or ciabatta buns

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk the egg; mix in onion, barbecue sauce, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix in bread crumbs and water, then beef and bacon.

Divide into 4 portions; form each into a patty about 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick. (Make-ahead: Layer with waxed paper in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 8 hours, or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw in refrigerator before grilling.)

In last few minutes, arrange optional cheese slices on patties. And, if you like toasted buns, separate and toast alongside patties.

Makes 4 burgers.

TIP: Press burgers while they're grilling and all their yummy juices will drip down onto the flames below. No amount of ketchup will compensate for the lost juices.

Flank Steak with Asian Accents

Even eyeing the aged T-bones and rib-eyes is enough to send your Visa into panic mode. Consider, for a change, a flank steak. This steak is full-flavoured, supermarket available and delivers beef to the max. You can season the steak in so many ways, but this Asian-inspired marinade is mighty good. The secret to flank steak is grilling it to rare, or medium-rare at the most, and slicing it thinly across the grain.

Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.

Remove from marinade. Place on greased grill over medium-high heat; brush any remaining marinade over steak surface. With lid down, grill for 4 to 6 minutes.

Turn over and grill until steak is well marked and medium rare, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice as thinly as possible across the grain. Sprinkle with green onion.

Makes 4 servings.

Herbed Pork Roast with Garlic

This company-pleasing roast is adapted from one chef Andrew Chase and the test kitchen created for The Barbecue Collection from Canadian Living (Transcontinental; $32.95). Ideally, choose a pork roast that's been frenched, i.e. with 2 inches of the tips exposed and cleaned like a rack of lamb. Or, ask the butcher to do this for you.

Spread garlic mixture all over roast; cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

Prepare barbecue for indirect grilling. (Set foil drip pan under 1 rack of a 2-burner barbecue or under the centre rack of a 3-burner barbecue. Pour water into foil pan to come 1-inch up its sides. Heat remaining burner(s) to medium-high.)

Place roast, bone-side down, over the drip pan. Drizzle any remaining marinade over roast. Close lid. Grill for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning roast every 20 minutes, or until outside is brown and crusty, interior has just a hint of pink in centre, and an instant-read thermometer registers 160F. (71C).

Transfer to cutting board; tent with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving between the bones into beautiful chops.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Go beyond the carry-out pack of mustard, ketchup and relish: Judging by how prominent these packs of condiments are in supermarkets, it's fair to say that Canadians are big fans of sweet/sour/and a little spicy.

But you can go beyond this sharp-elbowed trio by making your own. Try some from farmers' markets or road-side stands or the enterprising retailers who have relishes that sound like the ones granny used to "put up," but with a modern kick.

See President's Choice for its take on old-fashioned relishes - Corn and Zucchini plus Caramelized Onion and Spanish-inspired Sofrito. There is life on your burger after ketchup.